Johnny Walker’s unique reason not to want Bogdan Guskov’s fight was reserved? ‘I went to her marriage’

New Year, New Johnny Walker. It was the plan anyway.

One of the most entertaining attackers in the light heavyweight division was well prepared to start his campaign in 2025 in style with a fight at UFC 311 in January. However, Walker’s potential against Bogdan Guskov put him in the complicated position to fight a friend.

If he had not been for a dislocated coast during his last combat session before the fight week, Walker should have put this friendship aside for the combat. Instead, Walker withdrew from the fight and Guskov fought against the late replacement Billy Elekana inside the Los Angeles Dome Intuit, marking a guillotine victory in the second round.

“I looked at the fight. It was good,” Walker told the crown. “He said that after the fight, he is not interested in fighting me, and he would fight anyone (others), and I think it’s the same for me because we are friends .

Friends fighting are nothing new in MMA, especially outside the image of the title. In rare cases, pairs of elite combatants have clearly indicated that they will not do so that they absolutely owe it. Take the former COQ weight champions of the UFC Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili as the most recent example. But Walker and Guskov are still trying to win the shooting status in the light heavy ranks.

In the end, they are you or them – so Walker had no choice but to accept for the UFC 311, no matter how reluctant it was.

“Imagine if you are fighting – the relationship will never be the same again,” said Walker. “Because I don’t want to injure myself and not support I will go to knock them out, to suffocate them, and if (I) go to the arm, if they don’t hit, I’m going to break my arm. A little Vicious – (but) I don’t have these feelings between me and Bogdan.

“The UFC offered it to me several times. I said:” No, no, no “, but there was not another option (for the UFC 311), which is sad but ok, No matter, let’s go.

Fortunately for both, the situation has followed its course, at least for the moment. Guskov won three games in a row with his last victory over Elekana, while Walker has been looking for his first victory since a unanimous decision in May 2023 on Anthony Smith.

Walker, 32, was an accomplished finisher inside the octagon, winning all 21 career victories except two at the distance. Standing 6 inches, Walker is one of the biggest heavy goods vehicles, so it may not stay as light as this previous camp for its next fight. Having also fought with heavy goods vehicles in the past, he sees a potential return to the Big Boy division to come as soon as possible.

“I am in my peak now physically,” said Walker. “I can hold my peak for – I don’t know – I hope, four or five years old, and then you start to decrease, but you have more experience anyway. But I am 32 years old – I think that I am 32 years old – I want 25, 20. I feel very good.

“So I’m also a natural heavyweight. I’m probably going to go to the heavyweight in perhaps a year and a half, two years old, but if someone needs to fight in heavy goods vehicles and someone injures himself here , I’m in Vegas – I can also replace someone.

The Walker’s coast injury was the first in his career of 31 fights, and he still doesn’t know why it happened. Walker remembers riding with one of his training partners before being caught in a guillotine. By escaping, Walker heard a sound broken in its ribs. In the end, the pain was too much to overcome.

“I couldn’t do anything, because if you already injured your ribs, it’s very limiting,” he said. “Like all the movements you make in the fight depends on your ribs, at the basic level. I could not do much and I was so upset, because my brother, I trained so hard. I am Go to Gilroy, (California) – I trained (Daniel Cormier).

Walker has crossed his UFC 311 camp trying to maintain his weight lower than usual, which, according to him, may have hampered his recovery capacity due to a decrease in caloric contribution. But now Walker has recovered and is ready to enter the octagon whenever possible – ideally simply not against Guskov.

“I hope I may come back to April,” said Walker.

“I want to try to fight perhaps two, three times more this year.”